I like to have two high-performance DACs at my side, one used in my stereo and another at my head-fi battle station. The usual RCA and XLR outputs are present configurable as fixed or variable, depending on the setting, meaning that you can use it as a DAC and preamp if you wish. Gustard impressed the hell out of me with their R26, so much so that I went ahead and purchased a silver surfer to be used in my headphone setup.

You won’t get a simpler case and while R26 was already beautifully crafted, A26 felt like a more refined version, exchanging mechanical buttons with touch controls which made it cool. R26 will never offend you in the treble, even put on bright-sounding amplifiers, speakers, or headphones. Its output stage was crafted mostly from discrete devices such as diodes and transistors, which could have unlimited potential in the hands of a skilled engineer. I love them both for what they are and if you already own any of these, it will be foolish to side-grading to the second unit, unless you need a second DAC.

Since we are dealing with an OLED panel that could potentially burn-in, please don’t use the brightest setting for long periods of time. While R26 isn’t that sharp or precise in its stereo image, it is considerably deeper and wider sounding. While both are highly resolving and equally transparent sounding, A26 will be giving you a little bit more.

I don’t see major compromises, only high-quality components that will leave a big mark when music will start doing its mojo. In a loudspeaker setup, it worked as a Streamer and DAC, followed by a Chord Ultima 3 preamp and by a Chord Ultima 5 power amp. a) I am NOT a professional reviewer, so I’m not going to be too wordy or try to get all fancy with my review, and b) My 50+ year old ears have been pleasantly abused with well over 100 concerts and loud home/car music over that timespan, so my hearing may not be as good as many of yours.Today I will be testing their best shot at high-end, their best converter that again left my jaw on the floor when I had peek inside. There’s an abundance of energy every time I hit that play button, getting positive vibes along the way. Under the unit, I was impressed to see some really solid aluminum feet padded with foam to further absorb nasty micro-vibrations. For more than two years, Gustard have been gradually improving their designs, slowly polishing those raw edges of X26 PRO for a more refined look. This one is not targeting the mid-fi market, but the best delta-sigma modulation DACs ever made that are using commercial DAC chips.